Program Files Folder Question

[Bruce Lay]

I have heard that XP will not allow files to be
altered that are in the program files folder. If
this is true, I have a question. Does this apply
to all files or is a program able to create and
modify it's own files?

I am going to be releasing a program soon that
uses an .ini to keep track of settings and the
..ini is created in the program's folder. If this
is a problem with XP, then I will need to do
a rewrite.

Appreciate any insite.

 

[Torgeir Bakken (MVP)]

I have heard that XP will not allow files to be
altered that are in the program files folder. If
this is true, I have a question. Does this apply
to all files or is a program able to create and
modify it's own files?

I am going to be releasing a program soon that
uses an .ini to keep track of settings and the
.ini is created in the program's folder. If this
is a problem with XP, then I will need to do
a rewrite.

Hi

If the user is an ordinary user (non-admin), he will not have write access to
program files folder, this goes for Windows 2000 and NT4 as well. You should
put the ini in the Application Data folder under the user-profile folder, e.g.
like this:

%USERPROFILE%\Application Data\YourAppNameHere\settings.ini

Alternatively, write the settings to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER part of registry

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\YourAppNameHere\

(Microsoft's development guidelines are recommending using the registry instead
of ini files)

 

[Bruce Lay]

<snip>

Thank you for the quick reply and the info.